Guide me through the darkness
by TheShinigamiUchiha
Summary: Severus' life has been pretty miserable because of the Marauders and having no friends. When the first person who noticed him in Hogwarts becomes their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, will things change? Crappy summary... Rated M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello and welcome to read my first published fanfic! **

**Author: TheShinigamiUchiha**

**Disclaimer: Characters and books which on I base this story belong to J.K. Rowling. I do not own anything (except a few OCs maybe).**

**For more info check the author note in the end. Enjoy!**

"Oh look, it's Snivellus again!"

"Eww, would you please wash that hair? It looks like you slammed your head in the butter at breakfast!"

"Nice one, James!"

"Look, he's running away!"

"Pathetic!"

Severus Snape couldn't care less if they told him that he was pathetic. He just wanted to escape the situation when he still had a chance – more than often that chance was denied from him. He kept running, pushing other students out of his way while trying to hold back tears which had started to form in the corners of his eyes. He didn't slow down before he reached the boys' bathroom, running inside and slamming the door shut after him.

He walked to the sink, rising his gaze to look himself from the mirror. Sickly pale skin, abnormally black eyes and greasy hair were the first things he noticed. He knew himself that he hadn't won in the genetic lottery but did they really have to remind him about it in every break and lesson?

His breath hitched in his throat when the tears finally started to flow along his bony cheeks.

He knew that he was intelligent and smarter than most of the students in his age. He was wise, cynical and sarcastic. He may not have won in a physical fight but a couple of times he had made some younger students in Slytherin cry with his words, which were sharp as daggers. Yes, he would easily win a verbal fight. That still didn't change the fact that he looked like a starving vampire. He started to sob; he just wanted to live a normal life without hearing nasty remarks of his appearance almost non-stop.

The fact that there was nobody to tell him that everything would be okay also stung deeply. Of course he could have a civil conversation with other Slytherins of his age but it wasn't the same than having an actual friend. At one point he had one; a beautiful Gryffindor girl called Lily Evans. Sometimes Severus would still smile when he thought about her bright red hair, her clear laughter, her bloody gorgeous smile and her emerald green eyes which always had a hint of concern in them. He couldn't forget how she had been on his side when the Marauders -James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin- started to call him names and point out the obvious lack of looks.

Severus himself had ruined everything by calling Lily a mudblood when he had been once again cornered and annoyed. Lily wouldn't forgive him now or ever, he knew it already. It wasn't like he would have deserved to be forgiven; calling someone mudblood was one of the worst insults one would come up with.

He lifted his hand and let his fingertips touch his face slightly, caressing his not so attractive features. At least that was what they told him; he wasn't attractive in any way. Well, maybe the Giant Squid would pay attention to him, it was almost as slimy as Snape himself. The boy sobbed slightly when he touched his nose – they always told him that it was so big that it would have to have its own seat in the classroom.

What bad had he ever done to them? Of course he knew that Potter was after Lily but it wasn't likely that she would pay attention to the raven haired Quidditch star. The others didn't have any reasons to be mean to him. Well, Lupin wasn't that bad but he never did anything to stop them insulting him either.

Slowly he sank to his knees and buried his face to his arms which he had rested on his knees. The sobs and the cold floor made him shiver but it wasn't like he cared. The cold and loneliness were actually soothing – at least they didn't judge him in any way.

After a while he sighed and got up from the floor. Now he actually felt pathetic, like a teenage girl instead of being a teenage boy. He bit his lip and snickered weakly; pathetic, really. He wiped the last marks of the tears off his cheeks and started to make his way towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. He knew that he was late (actually awfully late) but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was a good student and when situations like this happened every now and then he was usually forgiven.

The corridors were empty if one didn't count the students who had a break or the ghosts who passed Severus every now and then. At least nobody paid attention to him now since usually they only did it when the Marauders were present. They were like the kings of Hogwarts; at least majority of the students thought so. They were good-looking, smart (or at least people liked to see them in that way) and talented wizards – well, Pettigrew was an anomaly among them but he was still one of the Marauders so he was also respected. His thoughts were like a whirlwind when he finally arrived to the classroom and rose his hand to knock on the door.

Several seconds later he heard footsteps from the other side of the door and then the door was opened. Severus opened his mouth to apologize when he realised who he was looking at. The breath hitched in his throat. The long, platinum locks which cascaded over the man's shoulders like a waterfall. Grey, piercing eyes looked straight into his coal black ones. The man had a muscular body (his tight-fitting clothes showed it pretty well) and he truly was attractive, not to mention that he was only a few years older than him. The first one who had noticed him when he had arrived to the Slytherin table in his first year at Hogwarts.

Severus was snapped back to the reality when he heard a smooth voice talking to him. "Severus Snape... You are late" the man stated the obvious. "You must stay in my classroom after the lesson so we can discuss about this. Yes; I'm your new teacher in this subject. Mind coming to the classroom?" Lucius Malfoy asked while looking into his eyes, silently wondering in his mind what would be the reason that the always good and reliable student Severus Snape was late from his class – not to mention his red-rimmed and puffy eyes.

What had happened since he had left Hogwarts?

**A/N: Hello! So, what do you think? As you have noticed the main pairing will be Lucius/Severus since I enjoy this pairing pretty much but there aren't too many fics about it. I know that Lucius is likely to be a Death Eater already but I have plans for this one... Buahahaha. This also takes place in the Marauder's Era. Review please! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Check the author note in the end of this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except my wicked mind which created the plot of this story). Every character etc belongs to our queen J.K. Rowling.**

Lucius couldn't help but watch Severus slowly walking past him and towards his seat. The boy had changed, that was for sure. But what the hell had happened since he had left Hogwarts almost five years ago? What he actually remembered about Severus was that he was silent and highly intelligent, not that much into people but definitely not this introvert and sad than he was now. Silently he made his way back to the front of the class.

With his back turned to the students for a while he didn't see all those evilly glistening gazes towards Severus, that foot which almost made Severus fall to the floor, that grin which decorated James Potter's face when he saw Severus' face. When he turned to look at them everything was back to normal.

"As I said before Mr Snape arrived, turn to page 62 and start reading. It isn't likely that you would actually come across these curses since the Ministry decided that they were illegal in 1916. However, even if they're rare their existence hasn't totally vanished from the wizarding world. As it seems, dark times lie ahead... And it doesn't hurt you to know about these", Lucius said, watching Severus from the corner of his eye. His black hair was like a curtain covering his face from the world, his black eyes still seemed to water a bit but it was clear that the boy fought his tears back. Lucius sighed inwardly; everything wasn't okay but he wasn't sure if Severus would actually speak to him.

Meanwhile Severus couldn't concentrate on his book, not when he felt someone kick his chair a bit. He didn't even bother to turn his head to look who did it. It was Sirius Black who entertained himself by making studying in lessons almost impossible to him. Somehow he guessed that Lucius hadn't noticed. No one had before so why he then?

The memories, sharp as daggers, triggered into his mind too easily. The time when he had fought with Potter in his second year at Hogwarts and how he had found himself from the medical wing after that. He hadn't told madam Pomfrey the real reason; why should he? It wasn't like anyone would have come to his rescue before the incident so why someone would listen to him now? And the time when he was almost killed by Lupin... No, the werewolf he had turned into. Lupin was that shy guy, the intelligent and silent one. He couldn't hurt a fly. Anyway, Severus had seen his beast side and it was a wonder that he had survived. Once again everybody just shouted at him and told him to be more careful. And, once again, James Potter was the hero who had saved him from the tragic fate.

The fights, the name-calling, stuff like that was still going on but everyone seemed to be deaf for it. Not even his head of House, potions master Slughorn, noticed anything. And, like everybody knew, Severus didn't tell if something was on his mind. He didn't bother since nobody would help him after all. When he was a child he had searched some comfort from his parents but they only concentrated on their fights – which were usually Severus' fault since he was a wizard and his father just couldn't accept it. The memory made itself known.

"_You bitch! I didn't raise your son to be a damn freak!" _

"_Tobias! He is your son too!" _

"_Hah! That freak of nature!? Never! Look at him; he isn't even attractive in any way so he can't even get a wife, at least not one who actually has money and power! He was the greatest mistake of my life! You hear me!? THE GREATEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE!" _

"_Tobias, please - " _

_SLAP._

_Severus had seen his parents fight many times before this but none of those times had been this bad. Of course he had heard that he was a freak, of course Tobias Snape had name-called his wife but never before had he slapped him. Severus curled up into the corner, rocking himself back and forth like he tried to comfort himself. Nobody else would do that. The neighbours didn't care; they were used to the shouting and fighting. He felt a single tear escape from the corner of his eye. _

_Silently he raised his gaze to the ceiling and whispered: _

"_God... If you are there, do everyone a favor and kill me already." _

But something greater was against him since it had been two years of that fight and he was still alive – or as alive as one could be if he was going through a living Hell. He had searched comfort from Hogwarts, he had wanted to feel safe but everything just somehow turned out to be a damned nightmare. A nightmare caused by the Marauders. Of course he also got owls from his mother but they didn't do anything to make him feel better. Almost every letter ended in words "If you don't hear about me in four days, do me a favor: find your father and get your revenge". His mother actually waited for his... Father to kill her. Even though she had accepted his fate, Severus just couldn't. He feared that that day would actually come, that his mother Eileen Snape nee Prince would be found dead from Spinner's End, the asshole of the world. Then he would be truly alone without anyone to trust. He didn't want his mind to swallow him into the dark cradle called pitying himself but sometimes he couldn't help but desperately cry into his pillow in the dead of night and wonder why him all of people had deserved this.

Though it might have something to do his attitude; he also knew that Black didn't have the loveliest parents in the world (at least not according to his little brother Regulus) but he had just walked out. Well, at least he had had a chance to do so – he actually wanted his mother dead so he didn't have to be afraid of it.

Lucius' voice almost made him fall out of chair. "For Friday's lesson I'd like you to write me a twenty inches long essay about these curses and why they are considered illegal. You will find some extra information from the library – if you decide to go there and find some information, you will need a special permission from me but that won't be the problem. Class dismissed" the blond said in a pretty loud voice.

Severus started to pack his things, almost hoping that he would be lucky enough to escape from the classroom before Lucius would remember that he would like to speak to him. That just didn't happen; when Severus rose from his chair and started to make his way towards the door of the classroom he heard Lucius' voice, much softer and full of concern.

"Severus... Would you please come here? You were late from my class and now, as your teacher and your friend, I would like to know the reason."

**A/N: Soooo, another chapter is here! I forgot to say in the last author note that I will update this one once a week. I have no idea how many chapters there will be but I plan to work on this at least for a few months.**

**Also thank you for the favs and follows! ^_^ They really made my day since I was pretty nervous when I published the first chapter... ^^" By the way, I'm sorry about all the grammar errors etc but even though my English is pretty fluent my maternal language is Finnish and sometimes I just start to translate things from one language to another and then it goes all wrong _ **

**I will update this fic again in the next week! I've been writing a one-shot too; it's not about this pairing but anyway. I don't know when I will publish it since it seems to turn out to be pretty long and I'm not even in the halfway of it yet... xP**

**Review please! ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters etc. They belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but this story.**

**Warnings: Nothing in particular yet. I have forgotten this warnings part but I try to remember from now on.**

**And thanks for your review, Tibbsfanatic! ^_^ I also love them as a couple and the Marauders Era is actually my favourite era '3 I'm still trying to figure out how Lucius will handle those bullies but I think that I have an idea upcoming... ^_^**

**Check the author's note in the end!**

Chapter 3

Severus turned slowly to look at Lucius who had come to sit on his desk. The black-haired teenage boy could feel how he became more and more nervous. He could always lie to Lucius and pretend that everything was okay. That way the professor couldn't make the situation even worse, he wouldn't talk to the Marauders and Severus' life would continue in the same way; he would be as miserable as always but not even more miserable. Something inside him told him to tell the truth anyway – maybe Lucius would make everything better just by being there and listening to him.

Severus walked to the front of the class and sat on the desk opposite to Lucius. He sighed; where he should begin? Should he tell everything from the start, tell about every spell, hex and hurting word he had heard? Should he leave the details off? It was hard to decide but finally he decided to tell almost everything.

"It was because of the Marauders", he started and then inhaled deeply a couple of times. Even though he knew that Lucius would listen it wasn't so easy to let it all out, every thing he had locked away from everybody else than himself. It wasn't easy to tell about his life at home and it certainly wasn't easy to tell how much he had been humiliated during these years.

Lucius waited patiently for him to continue. After a few silent minutes he was able to speak again, now in a bit stronger voice. "After you left they noticed that I had nobody to guard me, nobody to help me out. They started to pick on me – well, not Lupin that much but he hasn't been able to stop it either. They don't actually listen to him... I can't even count the times they have hexed me. It has happened way too many times during these years.

Even if they don't hex me they always find a way to get under my skin with their words. They name-call me; Snively is their favourite name for me. Potter and Black are the worst ones. Every time I come across with them they do something. Sometimes they try to beat me up Muggle style but since I'm not as strong as them even it hurts me a lot. I have had black eye and bleeding nose almost too many times... But well, that happens at home too so I am pretty used to it" the boy confessed in a silent voice.

Lucius couldn't believe his ears. The boy had gone through Hell after he had left! "Wasn't there really anybody who could have listened to you?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. At first Severus shook his head but then he remembered that there had been someone. "Lily Evans from Gryffindor used to be my friend. We were friends even before we came to Hogwarts, even before we received our letters. Getting sorted into rival houses didn't shake our friendship... Until I destroyed it. I accidentally called her a mudblood and then she decided to not to interact with me.

And Potter... Since he saw her, he was always flirting to her. Back then I was jealous to death... I guess I had a crush on her but then everything just kind of blew up and now we don't even talk to each other since she is a part of the Marauders. She was my best and only friend. The other Slytherins are just way too dumb nowadays. I can't talk to them – well, Mulciber isn't that bad, he actually sometimes tries to listen to me but he isn't very good at it. Usually it ends up in a situation in which I try to prevent him from running to Potter and hexing him", the teenage sighed and lifted his gaze from the floor to look at Lucius properly.

The man was speechless. Why hadn't anybody noticed this? He knew that he had to be polite towards the students since he wasn't a student himself any more... And he had a mission to complete. It wouldn't do that he got fired now.

A few moments passed in silence. Lucius seemed to be deep in his thoughts while Severus felt a bit dizzy and also numb. He hadn't spoken about these things to actually anyone (Mulciber really didn't listen to him) and letting it all out at once felt weird. Then he understood that he had skipped the actual question.

"And today... They name-called me again. They called me Snively and pathetic when I... Ran away to cry", he said in a quiet voice. Somehow he felt better after the confession but he was also afraid. What would Lucius do now? The risk still existed; Lucius could make it all worse just by saying a couple of words to the Marauders. If he spoke to them, they would know who had told him. "Please... Do not speak to them, at least not yet. It would only make the situation worse", he said, almost whispered in a bit shaky voice. He cursed himself – he couldn't get too emotional, not now when Lucius was there. He didn't want to seem to be the weak one.

Lucius gritted his teeth a bit. The truth was that he considered Severus more as a friend than as a student but he couldn't show it. He sighed and looked at Severus. "Thank you for telling me. I can promise that I won't talk to them just yet but I will definitely try to make the situation better. Trust me, Severus – and remember, if you have something on your mind, you can always come to me. I don't exactly trust Slughorn that much; he's a bit too fooled by Dumbledore. Well then, you can go now. If I was you, I would go to the Slytherin common room or dorms and try to relax a bit. You deserve it", the blonde said.

Severus rushed away from the classroom. Lucius' gaze followed him and then darkened dangerously. He needed to do something and that's why he needed a plan – now.

**A/N: Gah, sorry guys, I know that I'm late with this chapter but I was really, really busy last week! ;_; I might try to update twice this week but I can't promise anything about that just yet... **

**And I know that it may seem a bit OOC for Severus just to talk about this problems but I tell you a secret: when it comes to bullying Severus and I are not that different. I have never been beaten up (and obviously I haven't been hexed) but still. The worst period of bullying happened when I was 13-15 years old. Then I went to high school and some of the bullies were still there - thankfully they quit their school career there pretty soon but anyway. I hadn't talked about my problems much to anyone but then I just had to and my Swedish teacher was there and listened to me - and he actually was able to stop the bullying, at least in his lessons. I'll be forever grateful for him about that. It was actually the inspiration of this story - though I have never been in love with him, I just wanted to write a pairing fic. :D**

**Reviews, please! ^_^ And thanks for the new follows and favs! 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot of this story (and perhaps a couple of OCs). Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

**Warnings: nothing in special.**

**Check the author's note in the end.**

Chapter 4

Severus nothing but ran to the entrance of Slytherin common room. He thought that he had heard some of his so called friends call him but he couldn't care less. The black-haired teenager had no energy to deal with anyone at the moment. He truly hoped that there wouldn't be anyone in the dorms; it was likely that there would be some students in the common room but he didn't plan to stay there.

"Velvet serpent" he said aloud and the wall in front of him started to move, revealing the green-coloured room behind it. Severus stepped into the room and started to walk down the stairs when the door behind him closed. Some first and third years were in the common room, gazing lazily at him before going back to whatever they were doing. Severus walked straight into the dorms; luckily there was nobody. He collapsed onto his bed – his body felt somehow heavy and mentally he felt exhausted. It might have had something to do with the fact that he usually didn't tell anyone what he was actually thinking. Letting it all out at once made him feel somehow hollow and tired. He decided to take a nap; next lesson would have been History of Magic anyway and he wouldn't have paid attention there.

In no time he was asleep.

Meanwhile Lucius Malfoy sat at his desk, brows furrowed since he was deep in thought. The most logical decision would have been to tell Slughorn about the bullying. It would have been a good start but the blond didn't trust the man enough. He didn't even think about Dumbledore – the man was just manipulative fool even though he was pretty powerful wizard. And the man wouldn't care anyway; he would believe his beloved Gryffindor boys. The Marauders.

Of course Lucius had met them when he was still in Hogwarts. Potter, the leader of the gang, was the worst. The black-haired boy had acted like an owner of Hogwarts already in the beginning. Back then there had been no bullying though, at least not enough for Lucius to notice it. Black wasn't a saint either. They had played the worst (or the best, Lucius had to admit) pranks in the entire school. Anyway Potter and Black had been good students so they were usually forgiven.

Pettigrew was just a pathetic human being who wanted to be accepted. Lucius had a feeling that the man would do anything just to feel worthy... The blond made a mental note to himself that he needed to catch the rat-like boy someday. The boy would suit his plans well.

And then there was Lupin; the quiet and intelligent boy who turned into a blood-thirst beast once a month. Lucius decided to not to punish him; perhaps he would talk to the teenager to get some more information about the Marauders and how long everything had been going on – and why he hadn't been able to prevent his friends from bullying other students.

And then there was Evans, Potter's girlfriend. Lucius rose from his chair and walked to the window, sighing. He had to admit that it was at least partly Severus' fault that their friendship had been gone with the wind. Severus hadn't said anything about her bullying him either. Lucius decided to leave her alone. Black, Potter and Pettigrew were completely different issues. The blond decided to concentrate on them.

But what to do without being caught, without killing or actually torturing anyone? He sighed, his brows furrowing even more. There had to be some way... Perhaps he would make those guys feel the feelings Severus felt when picked on? It would be at least almost legal too.

But the question was: what to do? Lucius wasn't sure if there were any spells to do that; he had pretty much experience about wizarding world himself since he came from a pure-blooded family and had always lived in the said world but he didn't know everything. The potion would be too difficult to slip to their drinks or food. It wouldn't be as easy to track as the spell though... Lucius sighed again. There would be traces of his magic anyway but there would be more in the spell than in the potion.

Of course his wondering was pretty much hypothetical; he would have to do some research to find out if spells or potions like that actually existed. Or some kind of a ritual which would be the most difficult way... But it might have had more effects than the spell or the potion.

So now he had three options: the spell, the potion and the ritual. He decided to do some research in the evening. If he found nothing, he would write to his father and ask for help. He just had to make an excuse. Lucius couldn't just tell Abraxas that he was sympathizing Severus. Malfoys weren't supposed to do so. Maybe he would just say that he wanted to find a more effective way to torture people? The Dark Lord would be pleased to hear that as well.

Unconsciously Lucius rubbed his left forearm. There it was – the mark of the new master of the wizarding world, only hidden by a spell. He couldn't risk anyone to see it. He needed to stay at Hogwarts as a spy. And he needed to stay in Hogwarts for Severus.

The bell chimed, telling him that the next class was about to begin. He walked back to his desk, waiting for the students come to the classroom. When he saw them he almost grimaced. Screaming and laughing first year's students. Great.

Severus woke up when someone almost pushed him off the bed. "What..? Macnair, why would you do that?" he asked, feeling slightly irritated because he had actually been able to sleep without nightmares this time and he would have wanted to stay in that state.

Macnair grinned; Severus assumed that the other boy thought that he had been funny. _Imbecile_, Severus found himself thinking but didn't actually say anything out loud. Instead he waited for the answer which he soon got.

"I just thought if you wanted to come outside to spend some time with us? You would look less like a vampire if you got some colour on your cheeks", Macnair said, still grinning.

_He wouldn't look like a damn vampire if he stopped being pathetic and made some friends, preferably some kids with rich family!_ The words suddenly echoed in Severus' mind, penetrating it like a very sharp knife. He almost winced out loud but he didn't want Macnair to ask any stupid questions.

Instead he just shook his head. "I'll pass. I need to go to professor Binns anyway. I skipped the History lesson and I want to keep up with the others – yes, even though I don't have to do as much work as you others have to it doesn't mean that I could just lie down and think about Descartes and his philosophy" the black-haired teenager said, not wasting his time to explain to Macnair who was Descartes and what his answer was supposed to mean.

He just hopped off his bed, grabbed his bag and walked out of the dorms and the common room, making his way towards the ghost professor's classroom.

**A/N: Hello!**

**To be honest I'm not very pleased with this chapter since I wrote this under a huge stress... Well, at least I was able to think about some ways Lucius could deal with the bullies. I often wonder what my bullies would have thought of themselves if they felt the feelings I felt every time they said or did something insulting. Would they feel bad? Would they have a panic attack like I did? Would they just push it away and continue like everything was fine? That's why I chose this kind of a punishment. **

**I'm a bit stuck with the one-shot I'm writing but I hope that I'll finish it before June since my job starts in the beginning of the said month and it's more difficult to write than these two fics I'm currently publishing. It might be because of the pairing but... Gah. Also sewing will take a lot time for the next few months since I got accepted in a cosplay contest and my cosplay is far from finished and it's not the easiest one to make (if someone wonders which costume I'm making it's Chikane Himemiya's priestess costume from Kannazuki no Miko)... x_x**

**Reviews, please? ^^ I would really like to know what you think about this story! :) And thanks for the favs and follows! ^^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot of this story (and perhaps a few OCs). Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury.**

**Warnings: a lot of bullying in this chapter.**

**And excessivelyperky – thank you for your reviews! (: Yes; too much bullying can really break a person and even make them suicidal. I've seen that happening too much around me and I can't say that I haven't tried to meet the Reaper too many times by my own will (thankfully I no more do that). And yes, not many of the staff will react, at least not in a positive way.**

**Banana cream pie sounds good, now I want to eat it too :"D Yep, Lucius was there to listen to him and found out what's going on. It's always important that at least someone listens if something is wrong. Everybody deserves to have someone there by his/her side. That's too true – when I realized that Flitwick didn't even help Edgecombe I was like "Well excuse me sir! :I" **

**Yes, Slughorn is only interested in powerful students. Very nice of him to ignore Severus who also has a brilliant mind just because he isn't that outstanding as Potter and Black. -insert sarcasm here- **

**Thank you for reminding me about that – I didn't actually remember that he said that! ^^' And yes, Peter is just that kind of a person. Somehow I pity him; it just seems that he tries to be friends with the other Marauders because he doesn't want to get bullied – and of course he finds the power fascinating. And you might be right! ;)**

**Tibbsfanatic - thank you for your review! ^_^ You will soon see what Lucius will do... Not quite yet but pretty soon when he makes his decision! :)**

**Check out the author's note in the end!**

Chapter 5

When he was passing the doors of the Great Hall, Severus heard someone calling him in not-so-friendly manner. He grit his teeth; of course Black had to be there ruining his day once again. The pale teenager didn't bother to turn to look at the Gryffindor. The said idiot didn't deserve his attention anyway so Severus just walked towards the staircase as fast as possible.

He had almost reached the top of the staircase when a hand landed on his shoulder making him turn and see Sirius Black in front of him. Black had his usual grin on his face but his eyes were cold despite the pure hostility which could be seen in them. "Didn't your mother tell you that walking away when someone calls you is rude, Snively? That was naughty of you... Bad boy!" the Gryffindor teenager said, drawing attention towards them.

Severus tried to keep his face blank but inside his mind the only thought was _Not again._ He couldn't do anything to defend himself; the only time he had actually tried had been the time he would always remember, the time when his and Lily's friendship broke for lifetime. He also had no energy to do anything. His pride was screaming, trying to make him take his wand and hex Black but he didn't act upon that instinct. He knew better than cause problems – at least he wouldn't get into trouble because of that.

Black, however, seemed to be deep in thought. Severus knew that it was only acting; if the other boy didn't already have a plan, Severus was a Horklump. Finally Black spoke, not releasing his grip of Severus' shoulder. "I think that you need to be punished for being so rude towards me. I only tried to speak to you. I have no idea what's wrong in that stupid head of yours, Snively, but after this you will remember the manners for sure" the boy said, drawing his wand from his sleeve. For that he needed his both hands so he had to release Severus.

There were only about ten stairs left and the Slytherin teenager tried to turn and run away. He had taken four steps when he heard Black casting a spell – _Tarantallegra._ Suddenly Severus lost control of his feet and he started to fall down the stairs. He couldn't stop himself from falling and so he rolled down, being slightly relieved when he finally reached the floor.

He heard laughing around himself when he tried to stand up. It was no use; at that moment his legs had a will of their own so the only option was to sit down. He didn't chant _Finite Incantatem _even though he could do so; casting a spell in the corridors wasn't allowed. And at least someone would come and save him... Maybe. He tried to swallow his tears, not sure if they were caused by physical pain or humiliation.

From the corner of his eye he saw Black reaching him and kneeling next to him. "I hope that this taught you a lesson" the other boy whispered so low that nobody else could hear him. Then the Gryffindor lifted his gaze towards the big doors of the Great Hall. The headmaster was walking fast towards them, Slughorn walking behind him.

"Professor Dumbledore, Professor Slughorn, come help him! He fell down the stairs and even though I tried to catch him I couldn't help him! Someone must have hexed him – look at his legs!" Black shouted. Severus stared him in shock but it went unnoticed by everyone.

Dumbledore ended the spell controlling Severus' legs and for a couple of seconds the Slytherin teenager was relieved. Then he felt something throbbing from the back of his head. He rose his hand and touched gently his head; even that hurt so much that he almost winced in pain. Almost. When he looked at his hand he almost fainted. There was blood, quite big amount of it. _I must have hit my head when I fell_, he realized when he rose up slowly.

Slughorn walked next to him, looking at his head. "Headmaster, I can take Mr. Snape to the nurse" the man said. Everybody else saw only a professor worried about his student but Severus knew better; Slughorn had questions to ask him. He felt a slight pressure on his back when the professor put his hand there starting to guide him to the hospital wing.

When nobody could hear them anymore Slughorn opened his mouth. "Do you know who hexed you?" he asked. Severus shook his head, wincing when the movement caused the pain increase. "I wonder how soon Dumbledore will find the culprit... Well, now the most important thing is that you get right treatment. That wound looks pretty bad. Thank goodness Poppy is a good healer, she doesn't judge you" the man mumbled when he knocked the door of the hospital wing.

Severus didn't say anything. His brains were working hard at that moment. There would be a day when someone would curse him when nobody else was around. It was highly possible that he would get injured again. Of course he was thankful to Slughorn but when he walked to the sterilized hospital wing he couldn't help but think about the fact that the man wouldn't always be there for him. Slughorn was a professor, he had his duties; he couldn't always be there. Usually he hadn't been by this far either. That's why Severus decided to begin to invent a new spell that could heal wounds. If he couldn't fight he could at least treat himself afterwards.

What they didn't know that a boy with hazel eyes and black hair had heard Slughorn's question and seen Severus shake his head. James Potter sat under his Cloak of Invisibility, thinking. At least it had been Slughorn who thought only good about them but it was likely that Snively would tell Malfoy about this incident. He grimaced; Malfoy could actually believe that dirty little idiot.

James silently rose up and walked to another empty corridor before taking the Cloak off. If Malfoy did anything to Sirius, Snively would pay. Dearly.

**A/N: So, the chapter 5 is here! **

**Sooo... Yeah. Originally I wrote Lucius to take Severus to the hospital wing but then I did remember that I wrote him to teach the first years. -_- Well, at least I have some plot already created for the next chapter. **

**I'm bloody tired at the moment so this author note will not be very long x_x But I still have to say this: the house cup is finally ours! ^_^ Yes - the Sorting Hat sorted me into Slytherin on Pottermore :D**

**Review, please! 3**


	6. A message from author

Sorry that I haven´t updated this week but I graduated yesterday and I was soooo busy last week... _ But don't worry, I will post new chapters soon!


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling has created the characters, the surroundings etc. The only thing I own is the idea of this story (and perhaps a couple of OC's too).**

**Warnings: Nothing in particular. **

**Thank you everyone who have reviewed, faved and followed! 3**

**Check the author's note in the end.**

Chapter 6

Finally the lesson was over and Lucius was able to breathe a little bit. He was quite sure that he hadn't been as stupid when he had been eleven as the group he had tried to teach for over an hour now. One of the Slytherin boys had been pretty lucky; he had tried one of the hexes mentioned in the book without reading about its consequences. If he had managed to perform the hex in the right way he would have been blinded in a second.

The blond checked the classroom quickly – at least nothing was broken and he could leave the room like that. He shut the door behind him and planned to go to his room to enjoy the silence but stopped in his tracks when he heard a couple of fifth year Ravenclaw girls talking to each other.

"Did you see the amount of blood pouring from his head?"  
"Yes, it was horrible! I can't believe someone hexed him like that!"  
"I second that. Even though he might not be the nicest or the most handsome person in the world I know how intelligent he is… I wonder why he wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin."

That was all Lucius needed to hear. He coughed and the girls turned their gazes to him, looking a bit scared. "Excuse me, young ladies. I heard you talking about someone getting hurt. Might I ask you who this student was and who is with him?" Lucius asked. The girls were still silent for a while but then the braver one of them decided to answer him. "The hexed student was Severus Snape, professor. Professor Slughorn took him into the hospital wing, sir" she said. Lucius nodded. "Thank you, ladies" he said and made a U-turn starting to walk towards the hospital wing.

Meanwhile madame Pomfrey had managed to heal Severus' wounds and wondered now what she should do. She could almost let the boy go to his dormitory to rest but then again his friends would be unnecessarily curious about what happened and wouldn't give Severus the required peace. "Young Mr. Snape, I've decided to keep you here over the night. That way you will be able to rest properly without others disturbing you" she said. Severus looked a bit disappointed; he had wanted to go back to his dormitory but he was clever enough not to start a fight with the nurse. Poppy Pomfrey might have been a good-hearted woman but even a lion couldn't be compared to her if she got angry. Severus laid down on the bed, wincing a bit when the movement made his head pound.

Professor Slughorn looked like he wasn't sure what he should do. He had been a teacher for many years and solved many bullying cases but Severus' case went beyond his comprehension. The boy's family didn't have a lot of money, that was sure, and the boy wasn't even pure-blooded – yet not even those factors could explain everything.

The professor cleaned his throat. "I and the other staff will try to find the culprit as soon as possible. You can be sure that he or she gets caught and punished" he said and then turned on his heels, apparently taking his leave. It actually didn't bother Severus; he didn't actually like Slughorn that much. Next, however, he saw the certain blond walk towards the hospital wing. The boy saw how the man greeted Slughorn and asked something from him; the older professor shook his head and hurried away. Lucius let his gaze follow the potions master for a while before sighing and walking into the Hospital Wing.

It stung to see Severus lying there with his head magically stitched. Lucius sat on the chair next to the bed and looked at the boy for a while. "How are you feeling?" he asked then.

Severus sighed and slowly turned his head that he could see Lucius properly. "It was Black, Lucius. It was him who hexed me" he said instead of answering Lucius' question. The blond seemed to have lost his ability to speak for a while; he was far too shocked to say anything. The fact that it had been that Black guy didn't actually shock him that much – instead the fact that Severus could have died shocked him very much. Finally he was able to find some words to use. "What actually happened?" Lucius asked, waiting patiently for the answer. He knew that talking about it would be at least a bit hard to Severus since the boy wasn't used to talking but he had opened up to Lucius earlier so the blond was quite sure that the teenager would speak. And he was right.

"I was going to professor Binns to get my notes but then I came across Black. I tried to ignore him but then he followed me to the top of the staircase and casted _Tarantallegra. _I fell down the stairs and apparently hit my head… But it's not even the worst part. Even though Dumbledore knows that Black tried to lure me to meet the Reaper just a while ago he didn't even doubt Black when that guy pretended to be worried about me!" in the end Severus felt the tears forming into his eyes again. He blinked quickly a few times; he didn't want to cry over this again. It felt so childish.

Lucius seemed to be deep in thought. "What professor Slughorn said?" he asked Severus. "Oh, he just said that he and the rest of the staff would try to catch and punish the culprit as soon as possible – which in other words means that they may get to know who did it but only say a couple of angry words to him and that's it" the teenager said, sighing.

The blond couldn't help but feel angry towards his co-workers. How could they be like that? Didn't they really care? Lucius shook his head to clear his thoughts and then looked around. When he saw that madame Pomfrey wasn't anywhere near he decided to tell a part of his plan to Severus.

"Severus, I might have created a way to pay them back. I will surely need your help but at first I need to ask my father some advice. He might have some knowledge I don't have yet – and the more we know the easier it will be to pay them back their behaviour towards you. I will not tolerate the way they act, especially when you are their target. I protected you many years ago and now I will do it again. Believe me, the Marauders are the ones who will be sorry in the end" he said and rose up.

"I will get those notes for you from professor Binns" Lucius said and walked out of the Hospital Wing. Maybe it was just a good thing; Severus hoped that the blond hadn't seen the blush which had creeped on his face because of Lucius' words.

_"__I will not tolerate the way they act, especially when you are their target."_

**A/N: Somebody, come hit me with chair or something. I can't believe I have ignored this story this long... *sigh* Well, I have been sewing my costumes, trying to understand the school stuff (I actually study writing nowadays) and trying to write a book. Those are the main reasons I haven't updated - and in the summer I didn't have that much time because of my summer job.**

**I will update my Drarry fic soon too. With that one I've just been stuck but I will figure something out soon. Oh, and I started to write another oneshot but I won't publish it just yet... I will tell the reason later (:**

**But what did you think about this chapter? Tell me~! I will try to update more often now and I'm extremely sorry that I have ignored my fics and especially you who are patient enough to read my stories. Sorry! TT_TT**


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